


Don't Think Twice

by Lion_owl



Series: Winter in Camelot 2018/19 (standalone ficlets) [4]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Merlin is mentioned, Snow, Snowball Fight, Very Slight UST
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-10-09 03:02:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17398781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lion_owl/pseuds/Lion_owl
Summary: This is where a romantic walk in the gardens leads.





	Don't Think Twice

**Author's Note:**

> for my own prompt _my favourite is "snowball fight leads to one tackling the other, making out in the snow then they have to go inside and warm each other up in front of the fire" - corny as hell, but works for almost any pairing_ except, other ideas took hold and it ended up a tiny little bit different to that.
> 
> i have plans to expand this into a full fic. it's a tad too long oops, but i've already cut SO MANY words. Bonus points if you can figure out/guess where inspiration for the title came from. Unbeta'ed

The Royal Gardens stretched out from the Palace for half a mile, surrounded by a tall stone wall which kept out everyone who wasn’t wanted there. This was during Uther’s reign, so really that was almost everyone, at all. Once Arthur became king, the gardens would be open for all the citizens of Camelot to visit, but that time wasn’t upon them yet.

In the present, the only people allowed through the gates were members of the Royal Household, their most trusted Knights, and only those servants who maintained the gardens. He balked at his Ward allowing her maidservant to accompany her on her walks in the gardens, but turned a blind eye to it because she was his treasured Ward, and because she would probably give him a mouthful if he told her to cease.

Gwen wore her yellow dress that day. Morgana expressed a fondness for it often; said it reminded her of sunshine just as Gwen reminded her of sunshine. The sun shone now, as they strolled the quiet paths with their arms linked, but not enough to melt the glistening snow that had fallen thick over the land and crunched under their boots.

At the far end of the garden, there was a gap in the wall where some of the stones had been knocked out of the way. Magic had been used to reinforce the loss of structural integrity, and magic had been used to fool the eye into believing the wall to be intact. It had been Gwen’s suggestion, and Morgana and Merlin who had done it.

They had been walking arm-in-arm while walking in public, but Morgana let her hand drift down to Gwen’s as she led her through the secret door. It wasn’t so well-kept in here, but that didn’t matter.

They walked over to sit together on the bench, and Gwen leaned over to re-tie one of her bootlaces that had come loose. Or so Morgana thought, as she looked away to watch a bird land on a tree-branch. The sudden coldness on the back of her neck was a shock as Gwen stuffed a handful of snow under her cloak.

“Oi!” Morgana leaned to scoop up something with which she could retaliate, but Gwen had already darted away. Morgana threw it, and missed.

Gwen’s laughter rang out through the cold air. “Sorry,” she said, but Morgana knew better.

“This is war,” she grinned. “One I’ll win.”

“Will you?” Gwen asked, and a snowball hit Morgana in the face before she knew where it had come from.

“Yes,” she said, before retreating behind a tree to wait out the volley of snow that followed.

She smirked at the cry that escaped Gwen when Morgana hit her own target, but that wasn’t how she intended to win this. Gwen would always beat her in a snowball fight, but Morgana had something else in mind. Holding up her hood, she sprinted as best she could in a silk dress along the path towards Gwen, who didn’t hesitate to take advantage of her exposed target.

She ducked behind the bench as Gwen took off towards her, stuck her leg out, tripping Gwen but making sure they fell in the direction of the grass for a soft landing, her hands behind Gwen’s head so it wouldn’t hit the ground.

Silence held them captive, their faces hovering inches apart, lying together in the snow, Morgana’s hands on Gwen’s wrists holding her down, one knee separating Gwen’s knees, her hair falling beside them like a curtain, shielding them and yet not doing.

“Morgana,” Gwen whispered eventually, tenderness in her voice, static in the air.

Morgana smiled.

And then she pushed herself away and held out a hand to Gwen to help her up and they both got to their feet. “You’re covered in snow,” she noted.

“Likewise.” Gwen looked over Morgana. “We’d better get inside before we get cold.”

They held hands all the way back to the palace. Gwen said she should go home to change, but Morgana pulled her straight to the stairs to her chambers, said she could borrow something.

Gwen got the fire going straight away. Morgana changed from her purple dress to a green one, and laid a silver one across the chair for Gwen.

“Uther would execute me.”

“He’ll never know,” Morgana winked. “You can’t stay in that, you’ll get a cold.”  

“If you insist.”

“I do.”

Gwen sighed, but donned the dress as Morgana sat down on the rug in front of the fire and patted the spot beside her for Gwen to join her.


End file.
